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Info When Scrivy Met Twilight (List of stories) << previous scene | Scene 1 | next scene >> Text Canterlot: the sprawling jewel-city of Equestria, watched over by the beautiful Canterlot Castle, throne of their benevolent ruler Princess Celestia. Canterlot was where all ponies of all races, be they earth pony, Pegasus, or unicorn, strove to reach: it was home to the very best, the noble, the wealthy, and the talented. It had the greatest libraries, the vaunted Magic Academy, the majestic Royal Court, and a thousand beautiful secrets all waiting for some lucky pony to come across them and unlock their promise of treasure. Yes, it was gorgeous, and it seemed flawless. Their beautiful ruler could stride without fear around her peaceful sanctuary, full of adulating subjects, as could any other pony. It was always busy, but ponies treated each other well, and were filled with happiness and warmth. They enjoyed the warmth of family and friendship and safety... or at least, most ponies did. But even the odd pony out, like Twilight Sparkle, had a wealth of comfort and luxury. The violet mare was currently studying hard in the library: she was young and pretty, with a purple coat and eyes that shone like gemstones a shade darker than her body, her mane and tail blacker but streaked with violet and pink. She was well-known around Canterlot as the apprentice to Princess Celestia herself, and despite how young the teenager was, she was maturing quickly and had more magical skill than many unicorns twice her age. Her cutie mark was a six pointed, pinkish star, surrounded by motes: her gift was magic, and every day she strove to improve herself, to impress her parents and her Princess. But she had grown up as an only child under the care of her doting, protective parents, so she was used to being alone. And even if she had an assistant, Spike, the dragon tended to act a little younger than he actually was and she tried to keep herself... a little distant. He was her assistant, after all, and she wanted to maintain a professional relationship with all things related to her studies. Books were piled up on the table in the library around her: light research, for the most part, something to keep herself busy while Princess Celestia prepared her next project. She smiled a little to herself before glancing up curiously as she thought she heard arguing from somewhere else in the usually-quiet library, but then shrugged and returned her eyes to the book at hoof. Then she frowned over her shoulder as she heard voices again: indistinct, but loud enough to echo through the library again. Several other unicorns – many of the students like her – looked up from where they were sitting, but then the voices quieted again, and Twilight returned to her book, feeling ruffled. Libraries were supposed to be for quiet research and no other purpose, after all. She let herself become absorbed in her reading... that was, until she heard a grumbling from nearby, and looked up to see an earth pony at one of the shelves. She frowned at him curiously: he had a charcoal-colored coat, and his mane and tail were ragged and white. He was lanky, and he wore a rumpled half-cloak of some kind, edged in gold. After a few moments, she realized that the vestments marked him as a member of the Royal Court, but Twilight Sparkle had no idea who this earth pony could be. He was standing at one of the shelves she had been at earlier, digging through the books on Canterlot history and apparently searching for something. Twilight Sparkle hesitated as she glanced at the five or so books stacked around her, most of them from that set of shelves... but then she simply shrugged and picked up the book in front of her again, going back to reading. She was sure he could find something, and she wasn't done her research yet. But less than half a minute passed before she heard a throat clear loudly beside her, and she looked awkwardly up to see the earth pony standing next to her. He was wearing square glasses and had moody chestnut eyes, and she winced a bit at his intense gaze before he asked mildly: "Got quite a few books there, huh?" "I... I'm doing research." Twilight replied finally, then she pointedly attempted to go back to reading, and the earth pony shrugged as he walked past her. But it was only so he could start going through the piled-up books beside her, and the violet unicorn immediately stopped her reading and flicked her horn with a huff, dragging the pile away from him as she said sharply: "Hey! Excuse me, but I'm trying to do important work here." "No, I'm trying to do important work here." The charcoal earth pony straightened, looking down at her imperiously as she glared back at him. "You're, what, a magic academy student? I was just named Court Poet of Canterlot. That means I'm a grown-up and I need those books for work." "What is that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked irritably, feeling a little shocked by the earth pony's behavior. "You... you can't be much older than me, and... this is extremely important. I'm learning from Princess Celestia herself and I have to work my very hardest to live up to her expectations... no, to do even better than that!" "Oh, so you're Twilight Sparkle, the unicorn she's so fond of. Well, you have my sincerest apologies, I didn't realize I was talking to a unicorn of such high and mighty esteem." the Court Poet replied seriously, and Twilight looked at him warily, and the stallion looked back for a few moments before she simply nodded and huffed a bit. The charcoal stallion couldn't help but stare at the fact the violet unicorn had apparently failed to recognize his sarcasm as she piled her books up with telekinesis and began to shove her things into a plain satchel, replying in a mutter: "Well, I wouldn't say I'm that important, but... I'm glad you understand a little more how serious this research is. Besides, with all due respect, what would an earth pony want with books on magic?" "Actually, they're books on a magic school, which we earth ponies built for you unicorns." he corrected sourly, and then he paused when she glared at him, deciding to try a different tactic on a whim. "But no, you're clearly right. Say, I didn't introduce myself, did I? My name is Scrivener Blooms." "I... that's nice, but this is very important, so I'm going to sign these out and go. Excuse me." Twilight mumbled, and she pointedly turned her back on him. Scrivener glowered at her, then at the pile of books before his eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and he quickly spun on his heel, hurrying off through the library. Twilight Sparkle was more relieved than she had wanted to admit, even as curious questions rose through her mind. Scrivener Blooms, Court Poet? She'd never heard of him before. She wasn't even sure that was a real position, as a matter of fact... and he looked so messy and he'd been so rude and... she was starting to suspect that he had been sarcastic, too, now that she was thinking about it. For a moment, she glanced at the books, feeling a faint pang inside her: maybe she should have let him take one or two. But then she reminded herself how important her research was, and she only shook her head quickly, finishing packing her things away and picking up the books. They were in a library, after all, there were all kinds of books and archives and documents for him to pick through. Twilight made her way to the front desk, where the librarian smiled at her from behind her thick glasses as the elderly mare asked kindly: "Did you find everything you were looking for, Miss Sparkle?" "Yes, thank you, Mrs. Lexicon..." Twilight paused, then brightened a little. "Oh, but I was wondering, you wouldn't happen to have the latest updates to the Canterlot Compendium, do you?" "Well, Miss Sparkle, as a matter of fact I believe it just came in this morning." The librarian smiled warmly, and Twilight bounced on her hooves a little: the Compendium was a constantly-evolving archive of information of everything around Canterlot, and it listed the newest books, changes, and other important facts and figures that had recently occurred throughout the Castle and Royal Court. New volumes came out once every month, detailing all the major events that had occurred up to the publishing date. As Mrs. Lexicon turned her attention to the shelves behind her, neither mare noticed Scrivener Blooms stride calmly up with two books he dropped loudly on the front desk. Both Twilight and the librarian twitched, then both mares glared at him before the librarian's mouth puckered and she quickly turned her attention back to the Archives, while Twilight continued to glower at the charcoal stallion. He only smiled pleasantly in return, then his eyes roved to her books, and Twilight almost growled at him, ready to protect her possessions. But Scrivener only rose a hoof, saying mildly: "Hey, I'm just going to look at the titles of your books and go, that's all." Twilight looked at him warily, then she nodded grudgingly, letting the earth pony step forwards before he picked up the book on top of the pile, turning it back and forth and exaggeratedly studying it. The violet mare glared at him, and then Scrivener looked up at her mildly, asking after a moment: "So you do know that half the history in this book is just rambling, unproven theory, right?" The violet mare narrowed her eyes slowly, and then Mrs. Lexicon called to her from where the librarian had moved a little way down the desk, and Twilight huffed as she turned her back pointedly to Scrivener. The charcoal stallion leaned up a bit, watching as the two mares began to go over what looked like the latest copy of the Canterlot Compendium. When he was sure they were both striving to ignore him, the stallion let the large textbook fall sideways, leaning on it to form a wall that blocked the pile of four other texts from sight. Then he shoved two books off the top of the small pile and tossed the books he'd grabbed out of the shelves onto the stack instead, before giving a loud sigh and moving the heavy textbook back on top. "Well, Twilight, I guess these books aren't much use to me after all." "Good." Twilight grumbled, shooting him a sour look, and Scrivener sniffed disdainfully before giving a mocking little bow. The unicorn huffed and turned her attention back to the librarian, who shot an ill look at Scrivener Blooms as well before turning her own eyes back to the young mare. Scrivener hummed to himself as he carefully pushed the two books he'd switched out further down the desk: usually there were at least three ponies here, but it was lunchtime, and the other seats were empty. The charcoal stallion paused as he shot a quick look down the desk, and then he leaned quickly forwards over the counter and snagged a date stamp and inkpad that sat on the other side amidst other clutter and a few unlabeled books. The charcoal stallion opened both of the textbooks to the back cover, yanking the two catalog cards in each glued-on sleeve free to stamp the date on all the slips. He glanced up to make sure neither librarian nor unicorn was watching, but they were still talking animatedly, and Scrivener grinned slightly as he traded the stamp and inkpad for a quill and inkwell. He signed his name on all four cards beside the date, then slipped two of the catalog cards across the desk and tucked the others back into the sleeve in each textbook. Then he closed both books and tucked them away into his cloak, whistling a little as he turned to stride towards the exit. He paused as he passed the librarian and Twilight, unable to stop himself from watching as the elderly mare closed the compendium and put it aside, while the violet unicorn watched brightly, like she was a foal watching candy being prepared, not a teenager signing out books for what he suspected was the hundredth time. Then he hurriedly turned his eyes forwards and strode onwards when the librarian moved the textbook off the top of the pile, then picked up the book beneath... and stared at it, a faint blush spreading over her features before she looked across at Twilight and said awkwardly: "This... is certainly uh... different from your usual reading, Miss Sparkle. This is part of your uh... research?" Twilight frowned, her horn glowing as she took the book from the librarian and turned it around... then stared at the sight of the handsome ponies on the cover with their manes blowing back and seductive expressions on their faces, before her eyes locked with horror on the title: The Lusty Stallions of Bareback Ridge? She turned deep red, then quickly turned her eyes back to the pile, picking up a second book with telekinesis and gaping as she saw it was another book in a similar vein. And then she realized what had happened, and she looked wildly back and forth before flinging both books down. Twilight caught sight of Scrivener's tail just as he left through the main door of the library, and the mare ground her teeth together before bolting after him. She managed to catch him in the hall outside, shouting angrily at the charcoal stallion, and he glanced innocently over his shoulder at her as she skidded to a halt beside him and fixed him with the most horrible look she could. "Give me back my books!" "What books?" Scrivener asked pleasantly, and when Twilight ground her teeth together and stepped towards him, he held up a hoof and cleared his throat. "Now hey, Sparkles, the only books I'm carrying are already nicely signed out and everything." "You're a liar!" Twilight fumed, and Scrivener put an injured look on his muzzle before the mare leaned forwards and accused: "You switched the books on me! You took my books and put those... those... dirty-books there instead!" "Now, Miss, we've only just met and I know my advice might be kind of meaningless, but I don't think you should talk about it like that. You're at that age where you're curious, after all. I'm sure many mares your age fantasize over homoerotic literature." Scrivener said seriously, and Twilight's jaw fell open, working stupidly before the earth pony smiled triumphantly and turned away, calling mildly: "Nice to meet you, Twilight Sparkle." Twilight could only stare after him, stupefied and unable to think of a proper response... and then she finally dropped her head forwards, glaring daggers from beneath her mane as the earth pony strode away. She finally grumbled under her breath, trying to tell herself it was no big deal as she turned around and stormed back into the library, heading grouchily over to the desk. The librarian had neatly stacked her books up for her, and Twilight grumbled as she began to tuck them away into her satchel without looking before suddenly asking: "Who was that jerk?" "Oh, the earth pony who was just here?" Mrs. Lexicon looked surprised, glancing up before her muzzle wrinkled with distaste. "That was Scrivener Blooms. Princess Celestia made him Court Poet recently... although heaven knows why, when there were quite a few more talented and better-known authors vying for that position. He's a troublemaker, Miss Sparkle, you should stay away from him." "I plan to." Twilight grumbled, and then she sighed and nodded her thanks to the librarian before turning and striding moodily towards the exit. It wasn't until she got back to her room at the Girl's Dorm of the Magic Academy and opened her satchel that she realized Mrs. Lexicon had actually signed the erotica out for her as well. Twilight threw these two books across her little bedroom with a groan, then sulked for a little while as she looked at where they had fallen to the floor as she sat back on her bed grumpily. She thought of the strange earth pony again, but cursed and reached up to grab her face, blocking him out of her mind before she turned and yanked the Compendium out of her satchel to catch up on all the important recent events. The violet mare settled down as she read peacefully for a good twenty minutes or so, and then she turned the page... and then her eyes widened in disbelief as she read a name that had already become horribly familiar to her in just the last hour under the title 'New Nobility.' "Scrivener Blooms." she grumbled, poking at the page irritably: there was a short paragraph about him that she didn't care to read, and she muttered to herself as she flipped through the pages that followed. They were all biographies of important ponies who had either newly arrived in Canterlot or recently ascended to their position... and she couldn't help but stop on the page that had Scrivener Blooms' biography, reading it more out of morbid fascination than anything else. There wasn't a lot of information: he was an earth pony from the far north, which explained why he had such drab coat colors, and he apparently had been published in several magazines and had a few anthologies out that she had never heard of. His writing apparently focused on darker and more depressing themes, and his reviews were moderate, at best... yet he had been chosen out of a hundred or so candidates by Princess Celestia herself for the position. And even though he had only recently been appointed, and this volume of the Compendium had come out shortly after that, it already noted at the bottom that Scrivener seemed fond of abusing his position for mischief and had produced very little work past the minimum expected. Twilight grumbled at this, muttering: "That doesn't make any sense. I wonder where he went to school, what he must have studied... but he didn't seem that smart. And Mrs. Lexicon said he was a troublemaker and I believe that, so... why did Celestia hire him at all?" The violet mare pondered these questions for a little while, then forced herself to put the book aside with a grumble before sighing and picking up another textbook. It didn't matter anyway, she would hopefully never see him again, and she could soon put this whole thing behind her. Sure, he had gotten under her skin, but he was just a jerk, and she was a better pony than he was, and it sounded like no one liked him anyway. She was sure that the next time she heard about him, it would be because a new Court Poet had replaced him. She nodded firmly to herself, and with a great effort, finally forced her mind to clear and to return to reading, intent on proving that unlike some ponies, she was definitely up to being the very best she could possibly be. Category:Transcript Category:Story